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Tales of art and creativity light up the stage

The Des Moines Storytellers Project gives listeners a peek into the life and world of both local and internationally known artists with videos and audio from our newest event, “The Secret Lives of Artists.”

Podcasts and videos of the stories featured in the Des Moines Storytellers Project's latest event, "The Secret Lives of Artists: Stories of Unlocking the Dreams and Delusions Within," are now available online.

In partnership with the Des Moines Arts Festival, the Des Moines Storytellers Project hosted a live storytelling event Wednesday at Bash Events on the festival grounds in downtown Des Moines.

Six storytellers shared true, first-person stories about all the ways art and creativity is central to life as they live it. From a newsman to a pair of felt sculptors to a closeted writer to a local — "rural famous" — spray paint artist, these storytellers share hilarious and deeply personal tales of creativity shaping perspectives, changing minds and moving culture forward.

Each of the storytellers came to the stage coached by Des Moines Register journalist Courtney Crowder.

Van Holmgren: The art hustle

Van Holmgren discovered his talent for drawing early on, but it took a special person to show him that skill was worth more than money.

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Van Holmgren discovered his talent for drawing early on, but it took a special person to show him that skill was worth more than money.

Working as a full-time artist in Des Moines for more than five years, Holmgren has splashed color around all corners of this city. He loves wading through the muck to find truth and present it to all who are willing to see.

Marjolyn van der Hart’s art is her attempt to capture happy moments like the time she and her father embarked on an unexpected and oh-so-eventful canoe trip.

Marjolyn van der Hart: A canoe ride to remember

Marjolyn van der Hart’s art is her attempt to capture happy moments, like the time she and her father embarked on an unexpected and oh-so-eventful canoe trip.

For the past 25 years, van der Hart has been a visual artist traveling across America to show her work. When not working in her studio in Toronto or experiencing the challenges of the art fair circuit, she can be found sailing with her husband and two kids in the wild waters of Lake Ontario.

Joany Yi is a cataloguer of life as it happens and a student of languages and she’s about to out herself – as a writer.

Joany Yi: The life of a secret artist

Joany Yi is a cataloguer of life as it happens and a student of languages and she’s about to out herself — as a writer.

Yi works on the communications and marketing team at the Greater Des Moines Partnership (#DSMUSA!) and is the founder of the socially driven project One Positive Thought. If she could, she’d run a doggy day care. Her top favorite items she owns are her road bike, Canon camera and a purple and orange carabiner.

In rural Missouri, Allen Vaughan’s friends just didn’t get it when he started to proclaim his love for rap music. But when a love became an obsession, Vaughan set down a path that – unbeknownst to him -- would shape the rest of his life.

Allen Vaughan: Pretty fly for a white guy

In rural Missouri, Allen Vaughan’s friends just didn’t get it when he started to proclaim his love for rap music. But when a love became an obsession, Vaughan set down a path that — unbeknownst to him — would shape the rest of his life.

As the consumer experience director at The Des Moines Register, Vaughan is a top newsroom leader involved in digital/print production, events and sports. Next month is his 10th wedding anniversary and he has two young daughters. A former boss’s impersonation of him went something like, "Rap. Sports. Sports. Rap. Sports. Journalism."

Ella Richards speaks during the Des Moines Storytellers secret life of artists event

Ella Richards: Tears. No. Smile. Yes.

Ella Richards was a refugee in need of a friend when she met a woman almost twice her age who would change her life forever.

Richards has lived in Greenwich Village her entire adult life. She feels it’s presence every day in her art and in her soul. For her, art is a unique medium where emotion and experience are shared and she strives to create art that strikes an emotional chord. She believes that the art you choose for your environment is important, like a relationship, and is a direct reminder of why we get up every morning — to find happiness. Happiness means something different to everyone, but she likes to share things that make her happy and she hopes they touch you, too.

Brad and Sundie Ruppert speak during the Des Moines Storytellers secret life of artists event

Sundie and Brad Ruppert: Follow your arrow

The ups and downs of Sundie and Brad Ruppert’s life have been challenging, but they made it through by following their arrow(s).

The Rupperts are a local husband-wife team whose passion is creating art from items otherwise discarded. They have followed their arrow from corporate America to the dotcom world and are currently creating a stable of sculptural felt creatures made from a hatmaker's fabric remnants. They are honored to be preserving the fabric of Americana once small piece at time.